


Crosswords

by windandthestars



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-06
Updated: 2012-01-06
Packaged: 2017-10-30 02:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/326735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windandthestars/pseuds/windandthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He did the Sunday crossword, in pen, in under ten minutes, under five on a Monday usually. Why he insisted she try to do the same was beyond her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crosswords

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rebeccavoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccavoy/gifts).



> Nonsexual nudity and implied sex. For Becca who wanted more mischievous James.

If she thought about it, it really wasn't fair. He did the Sunday crossword, in pen, in under ten minutes, under five on a Monday usually. Why he insisted she try to do the same was beyond her. She was smart, quick, and most days had a decent memory for trivial things, but this was ridiculous, which she supposed was exactly the point.

"Five letters," she muses, wigging her toes beside where he's lying at the end of the bed. " _Essays and such a girl's disorderly settler:_ BELLESLETTRES.” She pauses to fill in the letters and then continues. “ _Alarm a colleague fellow before North America produces a cosmetic which is a beauty._ "

He smiles at her and she draws her bottom lip in, thinking. A smile normally meant she knew the answer if she stopped to think about it. A frown meant she was being a total idiot. A laugh or a grin meant it was hopeless, although on occasion both meant _she_ was hopeless. If he shook his head it meant move on, the answer would be apparent momentarily, or it should be in theory anyway.

"Belladonna" She replies to her own unanswered question and waits for confirmation, pen poised over the newsprint. "James?" The side of her foot knocks against the book he's reading and he looks up, his arched eyebrow a mirror of her own.

"Helen?"

"Ten letters for _alarm a collegue fellow before North America produces a cosmetic which is a beauty._ is Belladonna."

He nods and drops his gaze back down to his book. She frowns at him for a moment before drawing her knee up and smoothing the paper over her legs. Twenty four across, thirteen letters, the third was an N, _wineglass neck broken by a character frequently mentioned at this time of the year:_ KINGWENCESLAS. She shakes her head, the next one's easier _Salt month of the Jewish calender:_ AB.

She moves back to the clues she's already scavenged through as James shifts at the end of the bed presumably reaching to set his book on the table they had moved to rest beside the bed. James was forever working on one project or another. Three tables in their small room meant at least one would have ended up their eventually even without James' prompting earlier that morning. He shifts some more and she's tempted to look, but she's finally gotten settled into the puzzle, focused, and she'd rather finish the damn thing than spend the rest of the day putting up with his teasing.

"N and B" she mutters to herself, further postulation cut off by a surprised squeak as James' hand wraps around her leg, just below her knee, pulling her leg down and upsetting the paper.

He's shifted farther up the bed. If he stretched, his fingers could brush the loose hair from around her face. "I much prefer this view." He muses as she swats at him with her pen.

"I'm working." It's a perfect deadpan. The seriousness in her voice surprises him, although she suspects he hasn't missed the flicker of mischief in her eyes.

"You're forever interrupting my work." He reminds her. "Over such trivial things. It's a wonder you ever get anything done anymore."

"And what trivial matter would you like to bring to my attention at present?" She shifts slightly, settling into her new position as his hand retains its place along side her knee.

"I'd much prefer it if you continued working without that ridiculous dressing gown to obstruct my view."

"The robe?" For a moment she almost laughs. He had been the one to suggest she cover up, show a bit of propriety in case they had an unexpected visitor. "Now what would I say if Nikola saw fit to stop by?"

"He wouldn't dare set foot after all the publicity."

Helen drops her other knee to rest against the bed, stretching slightly, dislodging James' grip. "It had been almost ten years and you know how Nikola is when he gets bored. We are staying in his hotel after all."

James sighs, obviously disagreeing with the her statement of ownership and settles his hand back on her leg this time above her knee, his free hand resting alongside her calf. "You were saying you wanted this to be a holiday of sorts." He reminds her.

Her lips twitch and she coughs to hide a smile despite the fact she knows he's aware of just how amused she is. "I'm not working. I'm doing the crossword. I think you're right, this is quite stimulating and yet," she allows herself a smirk. "Quite relaxing."

He wants to protest. She can see that now, he's grown tired of his book, of her and the puzzle. It had been days since either of them had allowed themselves any real work. She had, however, played her trump card. There was no way he could argue with himself, not when he had so carefully built his original argument.

He frowns, his thumb brushing against the side of her knee. "I think I'll take that walk down to that shop on the corner. Let you finish your puzzle in peace."

She nods with a smile, almost reaching out to him when he pulls away, vacating the space beside her.

"I won't be long."

"I'll call and have lunch sent up." She promises as he shrugs on his coat.

The door clicks shut behind him and she sets the puzzle aside, a hand at the bridge of her nose. The bloody thing was going to be the death of her. No bother now, she had other plans for the afternoon. Folding the paper, she sets it on the bedside table, the pen capped and placed beside it before she slips out of her robe. She'd have to put it back on if lunch arrived before he returned, but on the off chance that the bookshop turned out as uneventful as she though she didn't want to keep him waiting.


End file.
